We all know the saying. “With great power comes great responsibility.” It is the building block on which every Spider-Character in Marvel Comics is based. Most of those Spider-characters often take that message to heart and go on to fulfill their destinies as the Spider-Men and Women who protect their respective universes. However, sometimes, some characters stray off that path and would instead use their powers for their personal reasons rather than serve the greater good. And today, that’s what our theory article will cover following the release of the new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer.
[WARNING: Potential Spoilers Ahead for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse]
Miles Morales tries to fight destiny
Let’s dive straight into it. Straight away, we begin our trailer with shots of the previous live-action iterations of Spider-Man as they mention their sacrifices and their triumphs. But as the trailer goes on, it emphasizes one particular line surrounding our protagonist, Miles Morales, as the “Spider-Man who will change his destiny.”
But what exactly is that destiny? And why is that destiny so crucial that every Spider in the multiverse goes after Miles to stop him? The answer can be deduced using context clues. Throughout the trailer, we hear lines from Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) as Spider-Man 2099, saying, “Being Spider-Man is a sacrifice.” Peter B. Parker’s Spider-Man echoes this sentiment by saying he has “a choice between saving one person and saving every world.”
Miles, however, refutes this idea by saying that he can do both, save one person and every world before the other Spiders disagree, citing Uncle Ben as an example. How does this tie into our story? Why was this particular detail so important? Because Miles’ “sacrifice” is about to come into play.
Spider-Man’s relationship with destiny
In the trailer, Miguel O’Hara mentions Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man and the events of No Way Home about why this character can’t join the Spider Society.
Although one would think the main reason would be because of all the Multiversal mishaps with Peter and Dr. Strange during No Way Home, you might be surprised to know that that isn’t the main reason. The real reason was that Peter tried to change his destiny, like Miles was trying to do, and failed.
The story in Across the Spider-Verse will put Miles Morales against the most formidable antagonist any Spider-character has ever faced before destiny. And in the end, most Spiders are convinced that there isn’t much you can do to avoid destiny. That destiny is, “You must lose someone close on your journey to be Spider-Man.”
One could argue that Miles had his own Uncle Ben moment in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with the death of his Uncle, Aaron Davis, as the Prowler. However, the sequel highlights that this sacrifice will happen again, particularly at the hands of the film’s antagonist, the Spot.
The reason why this sacrifice is necessary, however, was already highlighted by Peter B. Parker in the trailer. Miles has a choice between saving one person and saving every world, which means that the sacrifice of someone close to him is contingent on the entire multiverse continuing to exist. This would explain the behavior of Miguel O’Hara and the rest of the Spider Society as they try to stop Miles from changing his fate.
Who will be Miles’ sacrifice in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?
The two prime candidates for Miles’ sacrifice in Across the Spider-Verse are his parents, Jefferson Davis and Rio Morales. Both have had their fair share of sacrifice plays in comics and media. Miles’ mom, Rio Morales, had died once before in the Ultimate comics before she was brought back to life following the events of Secret Wars. Jefferson has also made the sacrifice play in recent Spider-Man projects, such as the PS4 video game. A strong case could be made that the sacrifice play in this movie will come from Jefferson Davis.
Aside from the fact that Jefferson and Miles’ relationship was one of the main highlights of the previous film, the trailer also appears to foreshadow Davis’ doom by showing a scene in which he’s hanging off a ledge and plummets before we cut to another scene. But now that we’ve established the story, the intents, and the characters at play, Will Miles be able to change his destiny, or will fate play out as it should?
Miles will ultimately change his destiny and prevent the sacrifice play needed to preserve the multiverse. However, it will come at a high cost. By saving whoever needed to be saved, Miles may have ultimately doomed the multiverse as a result. And the consequences will indeed be catastrophic and serve as a great starting point for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse arrives in theaters on June 2, 2023. But what do you think of this theory? Will Miles let his destiny play out? Let us know in the comments or on social media. And be sure to check out our report:
Exclusive: Previous Spider-Men To Appear in Across the Spider-Verse
